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Russia Convicts Former Spy Official for Exposing Agents in U.S. Ring

By

Gregory L. White

June 28, 2011

MOSCOW—A Moscow court convicted a former top intelligence official in absentia of betraying the 10 deep-cover spies arrested and deported from the U.S. last year in a case the court said had done serious harm to Russian espionage efforts.

Alexander Poteyev, 59 years old, was convicted on Monday and sentenced to 25 years in prison for high treason and desertion. But the defendant's cage was empty: Mr. Poteyev fled to the U.S. a year ago, prosecutors said, days before U.S. authorities arrested the network of agents in one of...